Climbing skins are used to assist in ascending a slope. A climbing skin comprises a strip of material that is attached to the under surface of a ski or snowboard. Original climbing skins were made from the skins of animals. More recently, climbing skins have been made from synthetic fabrics which have a nap of stiff, rearwardly angled fibers projecting from a bottom surface. When the skins are attached to skis or the halves of a split snowboard, the ski or board may be slid in a forward direction with relative ease. However, the climbing skins tend to prevent rearward movement because the fibers then bite into the snow. Through the use of climbing skins, the user can ascend a reasonably steep snow slope by sliding one skin forward and then the other.
There are a variety of means known for attaching a climbing skin to a ski or snowboard. A common method for affixing the skin to the under surface of the ski involves the use of a glue which is adhered to the climbing skin on a surface opposite to that of the nap. The glue is adapted to remain sticky at low temperatures and permit repeated attachment and removal of the skin from the ski surface.
One end of a climbing skin is attached to the front end of the ski or snowboard. Typical means for attachment at the front end is a loop which is affixed to an end of the skin by a variety of means, including stitching, riveting, etc. For glued skins, one end of the skin is often threaded through the loop and a portion of the glued surface of the skin is folded back to adhere to a corresponding glued surface of the skin, thereby entrapping the loop in a fold in the skin. The loop is placed over the top of the ski and is prevented from rearward movement by wedging against the ski tip.
The European patent application published as EP1535651 describes an adjustable device to facilitate attachment of an end of a climbing skin to the front end of a ski or snowboard. The device forms an obround loop, the longitudinal axis of which may be adjusted in length in order to fit the loop on a variety of skis having different widths and tip shapes. The loop is intended to receive the end of a glued skin which is folded over to entrap the loop, in the manner described above.
The European patent application published as EP1550486 describes pivoting fasteners used singularly to attach an end of a climbing skin to the end of a ski. Such device requires the use of a specially shaped ski containing recesses at the tip and tail.
A modem climbing skin typically comprises a plurality of layers joined together. The surface of the climbing skin that will contact the snow is a material having a nap. The surface of the skin that contacts the ski will be a material which carries a layer of glue to grip the ski bottom. One or more additional layers may be sandwiched between the nap layer and the ski surface layer. The layers may be laminated and/or held together by mechanical fasteners such as stitches or rivets.
A variety of means are known for attachment of an end of a climbing skin to the tail of a ski. U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,755 relates to a system for retaining a climbing skin to the tail end of a ski which comprises an elongated resilient member, which permits tensioning of the skin while attached to the ski. U.S. Pat. No. 6,471,234 relates to a system for attaching an elongated member to the rear portion of a climbing skin which comprises flat plates which sandwich one end of the climbing skin together with the strap. Typically the plates are riveted through the climbing skin. A cut out portion on one of the plates receives a thickened end portion of the strap. A Coltex™ product includes a strap that is bonded to an outside surface of a climbing skin (see the band described in the Canadian patent application published as CA 2,547,416 as being adhesively bonded to a skin).